I am the rules

A year ago it was “the revolution of you”. Now we’ve moved to a first-person narrative with “I am the rules”. Either way, “you” and “I” are, of course, no other than constructed characters by the authors of these stories, i.e. the advertisers.
In this sense, what strikes me the most about this type of advertising discourse is how perilously blurred the distinction between fiction and reality has become; how by sheer repetition, over-exposure, and persuasive enchantments, the audiences of these advertising messages might end up ‘forgetting’ that those “you” and “I” are not really themselves.

Remember there was a time when marketing was mainly about the marketed product? Nike, for example, are experts at having moved on from that stage. Certainly, they still sell actual shoes (or sportswear in general), but what they effectively market is attitude, values and identity. I’d struggle if I had to explain this to my grandfather; yet, I’m in wonder that this fact has become so incontrovertible these days.

Most perverted of all is the appearance today that power has been given to the citizens, now christened as the new agents of capitalism. But this, it seems to me, is rather the product of a narrative device, a story that it’s being told by a narrator’s voice which has made its way inside of us; a voice saying stuff like for instance “I am the rules”; a first-person narrative voice which we risk taking for our own.

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Nike / Foot Locker: I am the rules
Euston Station (LU)
London

We are London. Are you?

Just the tip of the iceberg of this multimedia 'We are London' campaign.

Quite a branding stretch here for German sporting-cum-fashion goods makers Adidas, carrying out a completely localised campaign in London, closely targeting the homeboys they hope to convert/keep loyal to the spell of their global brand.

Appealing to that something so reassuring as it's the sense of belonging, addressing the audience with a direct question -"Are you?"-, the advertisers have taken this campaign to Facebook and YouTube. Just follow the link in the poster if you are curious -you'll learn that the kid in the above poster is grime MC Maxsta from East Ham, one among several success stories of local kids from non-postcard London areas who have done well in the hip-hop scene and have agreed to tell us all about it while touring us around their 'hoods' wearing Adidas clothes.

I have to believe that this grim London / hip-hop scene / social media stuff gotta be the cool thing, but I'm afraid I'm just too old to know. It's not that I'm not a Londoner, you know what I'm sayin'?

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Adidas: We are London. Are you?
Euston Station (LU)
London

Future Beauty. 30 years of Japanese fashion

It really surprised me to find this ad boldly headlined in katakana writing. Not that the advertiser –the Barbican Art Gallery– probably expected its audience to be able to spell it out, but the point was made notwithstanding; the poster was for an exhibition on contemporary Japanese fashion and, apart from the unmissable hint to the Japanese rising sun flag in the poster design, the medium guest-stars as the message: the use of Japanese characters goes straight to the point denoting 'Japaneseness'; whatever is the actual meaning of those characters is irrelevant; 'Japaneseness' on its own appears to be cool enough (and I’d also add fun and playful and quirky and edgy and kooky and even cute and so feather-light), and that is simply the perk. Even the skin is deeper, but I guess that’s what we have around these days.

By the way, the katakana headline –if you were curious to know– just reads “Barbican” (バー = ‘Bar’; ビ = ‘bi’; カ = ‘ca’; ン = ‘n’); it could have been expected, couldn’t it?

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Barbican Art Gallery: Future Beauty. 30 years of Japanese Fashion
Leicester Square Station (LU)
London

Be younique

The copy reads: "Andrea Garbolino. Contest Hero. Turin. Be younique".
The story, I read at the Police dedicated webpage, is that a contest was organised to find the advertisement face for 2010. The participants, supposedly fans of Police accesories, had to submit pictures of themselves and their 'youniqueness'. And it was this chap who got it in the end. So it is a 'you' who makes the brand identity here -or something like that, you know.

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Police: Be younique
Leicester Square Station

Be the revolution of you

There you go. This is branding today. Not about what the brand does for you, what it says about you or what you share with the brand; the brand, my friend, is you (or seemingly so they'd like you to think).

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Nike: Be the revolution of you
Waterloo Station

Premium Down

This is just one of the corridors of Oxford Circus station flooded with Uniqlo advertising.
What interests me of Uniqlo is how they play with their Japanese identity, not just in the ad above, where 'Japaneseness' is somewhat subtly implied by the logo in katakana writing (ユニクロ) and the Asian model, but in general in the stores, web and all public image.

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Uniqlo: Premium Down
Oxford Circus Station (LU)
London